Graduation Day

We knew the day was coming soon, we just didn't know when.  

On a whim, it turned out to be today.

Tyler graduated from his booster seat at the supper table...

Brooklyn graduated from the high chair to the booster...

And Daniel joined us at the table!

I had forgotten how much happier a fussy suppertime baby can be when they are simply up high with everyone else!  

Daniel wasn't the only one that was happy.  Brooklyn was Miss Big Stuff sitting at the table!  She was in a silly mood, showing out for everyone, but still ate her supper like a big girl.

And speaking of eating.... somebody had his first solid food tonight!

Mashed avocado.  Went down like he's been doing it all his life.  Welcome to the table, Daniel!  Happy graduation day to our babies! :)

Daniel - 5 months

Ok, so in 7 days he'll be 6 months. 
Oops.

But these pictures were taken when he was 5 months.  So it works, right?

Here's our smiley baby boy!

Bringing Easter to Life, Part II

This post is a continuation of our Easter Week family devotions.  Read Part I here.

Wednesday - 
We read about Judas agreeing to betray Jesus (Matthew 26:14-16, Luke 22:1-6), but first, since it also involves Judas and his greed, we backed up and read from John 12:1-8 about Mary anointing Jesus a few days before.  To illustrate, I found a pretty jar and mixed a little bit of baby oil and some perfume to pour into the boys hands.  We talked about kings being anointed and the significance of her gift.

Thursday - 
Using information from Passover for Kids and Order of the Passover Seder from The Jerusalem Connection, we talked our way through a Seder.  Along the way we sampled homemade unleavened bread and grape juice.  In years to come I would like this to grow into a full Seder.  So meaningful!  Also in the future (I thought about it for this year but it was too cold!) I want to end the meal by going outside in the moonlight to pray.

Friday -
The day Jesus was crucified.  We read passages from the gospels about the crucifixion and then went outside where each boy got to hold a large nail before watching Daddy drive 3 into a block of wood. We talked about how it must have hurt to feel those nails go in with such force.  And that Jesus could have come down at any time, but he stayed on that cross for each of us.  Because he loves us.

Saturday - 
Made Easter story cookies.  The ones where each ingredient tells a part of the Easter story, then you leave them in the oven overnight.  When you check them the next morning they are supposed to be hollow, just like the tomb was empty!  Ours however, were still slightly gooey.  Oops.  Next time I think I'll have the oven a little hotter before turning it off.  They were still more than slightly yummy, so it was still a win.

Sunday -
Hallelujah, Christ arose!  All week long we sang the hymns One Day, and Christ Arose.  We also worked together to memorize Luke 24:1-6, which begins, "Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they and certain other women with them went to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared." (We went with New King James on this one, opting for 'tomb' instead of sepulchre')  So, we ended our week of Easter devotions by waking our boys up 'very early in the morning'.  Thanks to the clouds it didn't have to be as early as it would have on a clear day. :)  We wrapped the boys in blankets and went outside to watch the world grow lighter and read the gospel accounts of Jesus' resurrection.  

Such a fun and meaningful 8 days together!  

Bringing Easter week to life, Part I

Easter is hands-down my favorite holiday.  Nothing compares to standing in the sanctuary with family and church family and singing of Jesus' victory over death and sin.  I want to blubber over with tears of joy/gratefulness/emotion every time.  Of course, all of the bunnies and chicks and pretty colors of spring just add to it.

I have no problem with said bunnies and chicks (and yes, I know the pagan origins), and we'll even be dying eggs later this week.  But I have always been at a loss with how to best share the true beauty and meaning of Easter with my kids.  Until this year!

It came to me on Sunday afternoon, and Greg and I decided to spend time each evening this week studying with our kids what the week of Jesus' crucifixion was like.  What was he doing each day of the week, knowing his death was only days away?

We are all loving our study and activities so much that I already know I want to do this again next year.  I also know myself: I could write it all down on a piece of paper and a)lose the paper or b)put it away and forget where I put it.  The safest way to record what we are doing is to blog it.  So here it is, Part I.  :)

Palm Sunday:

Read the account of Jesus' 'triumphal entry' into Jerusalem from Matthew 21, and from a story book.
Each child cut palm leaves from green construction paper.
They worked together to create a donkey.
We sang a couple of "Hosanna" songs, then laid our leaves in the floor for our donkey to walk on.  I wouldn't have been opposed to a paper Jesus to ride the donkey, but I'm pretty much just winging this!

Monday:

Our study began with a quick discussion of the Old Testament practice of sacrificing.  We named some of the animals that were sacrificed, then each boy made a paper dove.

We read on Sunday that Jesus was spending the nights this week in Bethany and traveling into Jerusalem during the day.  On Monday we read from Mark 11:11-14 about Jesus cursing the fig tree on the way into town that morning (important for Tuesday!).  We then continued in verses 15-19 about how Jesus cleared the temple of all the money-changers and sellers.  While we read the boys colored pictures of the story.

Tuesday

Tuesday started with the disciples discovery of the fig tree Jesus had cursed on Monday being wilted.  We made a quick note of that before going on to the rest of the lesson.
There is a lot recorded in the gospels of Jesus' teachings on Tuesday.  He spent time in the temple (where he was tested by the religious leaders) and on the Mt of Olives (where he taught his disciples).  We read 3 selections from all these teachings:
The question of paying taxes to Caesar - Matthew 22:15-22.  Each boy drew on a circle of paper what he thought a Roman coin might look like. 
The Greatest Commandment - Matthew 22:34-40.  We covered this partly because verses 37-39 are one of our weekly memory verses and the boys enjoyed hearing it in context.
The Parable of the Talents - Matthew 25:14-30.  As I read the passage from Matthew, we did our own re-enactment of the story. Daddy grabbed a handful of pennies and the boys lined up in front of him oldest to youngest.  I was the 'marketplace' where they did there trading and investing to double their money.  Except for Tyler.  He 'buried' his under the table and went back to working on his Roman coins. :)

We ended the evening with a discussion of how these three passages are related.  If we love God with all our "heart and soul and mind" we are going to surrender all that he has given us and serve him.  When we give him what is duly his (our life that he bought with his blood) we show him our love and are in return "good and faithful servants" to him.  

Each one of us is enjoying this time together in God's word and I think the readings and activities are definitely adding meaning to Easter week!  Can't wait to see what we pull out of a hat the rest of the week.  Thanking God for his inspiration and praying he blesses it!

Spring Breaking

To-do lists were long.  Tempers were short.  Spring break was dwindling.

The burdens of house-keeping and home-ownership were heavy, and the frustrations of parenting (x5) were mounting.

So we did the only sensible thing.

In a matter of minutes, we loaded everyone up and left it all behind.

First stop: the airport, to watch the crop duster land. 

 Then...

 picnicking,

 swinging,

 running, 

 reading,

kite flying,

 frog watching,

 more reading,

 jumping rope,

 ball chasing,

 pine cone exploring,

 and cookie sharing.

And after that, things were much, much better.

Life is good!

(Mr. Daniel slept through the whole adventure, which may have just been the best thing for all concerned!)

Allergy free diet update

Here we are, 10 days in. Thank you all for your comments on my original allergy post last week.

Daniel's skin is looking great!  It cleared up around the one-week mark and has only continued to improve.

Just today I can begin to notice his little nose not being snotty, and he seems to cough less.  But when he does cough he still sounds a little congested.

I haven't seen the poop results I am looking for, but it's still early.

As far as the concerns I had for myself:

Yes, I miss cheese and all things dairy.  And peanut butter.  I miss peanut butter more than I thought I would!

Yes, I get hungry often.  But I snack often, too, so I don't think I've lost any weight.  I've eaten a lot of chips & salsa, bean dip (made my own), and hummus (made my own of that, too).  I'm on my second batch of granola. :)

The only 'cheats' have been a little bit of mayo (made with eggs) and tonight I floured my meat before I fried it.  I'm so certain dairy is the culprit I didn't see those cheats as a big deal.  The biggest hurdle was our monthly fellowship meal at church Sunday.  

Breakfast hasn't been as hard as I thought.  I did eat beans one day, because I was going out and didn't want to be snacking and hungry later.  The other days I've been eating (instant) oatmeal.  I discovered cooking it with a tablespoon or so of pumpkin helps make it nice and creamy. :)  I prefer making my own oatmeal instead of using instant but since I'm already making the boys breakfast every morning it's so much easier to just use the instant.

For a chocolate fix I discovered that chocolate syrup (the kind for ice cream and chocolate milk) is dairy free.  Not bad poured over bananas with a spoon. :)

But even better than that was a recipe for dairy free fudge I had saved!  Woohoo!  Mine didn't set up, but I didn't really care.  It was chocolate!

And every mama needs chocolate, right?

4 Months

Yay! Four months is a celebration to me, of making it past the first 3 months.  Those first 3 months are a doozy, but once you are good and clear of those there are more fun & games than tears.  And even if you aren't quite there yet there is usually the promise of better sleep on the horizon. :)

We are all enjoying baby smiles and chuckles (we call them courtesy laughs).  Dale and Alan both love helping take care of Daniel, and he is definitely still Brooklyn's favorite baby doll. 

As I posted earlier this week, he's had some trouble that we attributed to allergies.  I've made some changes in my diet hoping to get him some relief asap.

Some of our babies have started solids this early, but Daniel doesn't seem the least bit interested, so the plan is just to continue nursing for now.  Most nights he still wakes up every 3 or 4 hours, but some nights he'll surprise me with a 5 or 6 hour stretch.  Naps are fairly predictable (with a morning, afternoon, and usually an evening) and (maybe? fingers crossed!) getting a little longer.

Happy baby days!